Stocking mending machine



Jan. 18, 1949. M. SAG'NIER STOCKING MENDING MACHINE Filed Nov.v 28, 1945 R E N G. :m 0 n n In 5 B AW n 7w. an 6 L Patented Jan. 18, 1949 STOCKING MENDINGMACHINE LMrope ;Sagnier, iParis, France ApplicationNovember 28, 1945; Serial No. 631,340

InFrance May "2lg l943 ssection l B-ublici Law 690,;August 8,1946 .Batent expires May .21, 1963 This inventionrrelates to improvementsin' mai chines for mending hosiery; I8. g." stockings.

Generally, machines of'that kind comprise a *knitting needle' movable within a sleeve to'be'held withthe hand and "to which the reciprocatory motionnecessary for the mending operation is imparted automatically by-a motor or the like through the medium of flexible transmission means whereby the operator is-tenabledto move the needle along the article tobe mended which is stretched on adrum;

According to this invention, the "needle-actuating means are housed 'in a casing? moreover, -the' drum on A which the article is to be stretched fOr-the-mending thereof is rigidly connected with said casing andarranged ez gr at the "top'of the same.

The invention alsoaims at an improvement whereby" the stroke of theneedle canbe adjusted -in-a particularly simple and accurate manner.

3 Claims. (01. 66-15) According to this improvementgthe shaft of the prime -mover acts upon the flexible connectset of the innereccentric, to modify the actual radius of eccentricity of the outer eccentric (which controls the flexible connection) with respect to the shaft from zero up to a maximum value. This very compact mechanism is contained in the casing, with the exception of a pair of setting knobs.

A stockin mending machine is thus obtained, according to this invention, which is extremely compact in which the number of parts is reduced to a minimum, which is very reliable in operation and which needs almost no attention.

Further features and peculiarities of this invention will be pointed out in the course of the following description in which reference is had to the appended drawing in which an embodiment of a mending machine according to the invention is shown diagrammatically by way of mere example.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the outside of the machine.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the double eccentric mechanism for the actuation of the needle and the adjustment of the stroke thereof.

Figure 4 is a detail view.

Figure 5 and 5a are elevational views of the double-eccentric in either of its end positions.

In the example shown the invention is assumed to be applied to a stocking mending machine. Itis-to beunde'rstood'however that the same machine, after minor alterations or even as such, icanfibe used for. mending any other kindof hosiery.

'The machineshown primariiy omprises a casing l in which'the prime mover [is arranged, 'for instance an electric motor 3. Attached totthe top of said casing isthe. drum2 on whichthe' operator lays and stretches the stocking orfllike articleto be mended. j

Throughthe mediumof areduction gear 4 the motor "3 "drives a shaft 5 that carries a driving disc 6 on which the doubleeeccentric actuating and adjusting mechanism ofthe"flexibletransmission means is 'frictionally fitted;

The said mechanism is shown in enlarged view in 'Figs. '3 and 4; it is composed primarily of a first eccentric disc-B rigid with :a sleeve 8a rotatably fitted'on the jack shaft '5. Inyturn, said first eccentric disc has rotatably fittedfthereon a second eccentric disc T "which in the example shown has the same radius ofgeccentricity as discB: a

The jack shaft 5 and sleeve 8a project through the casing l and are borne in a ball bushing M. The outer end of shaft 5 carries a knob [3 while another knob 12 is carried by the outer end of sleeve 8a.

It will be appreciated that once the shaft 5 is held fast by hand or otherwise by means: of knob 13 it is possible, by rotating the eccentric disc 8 by acting upon knob l2, to correspondingly change the actual radius of eccentricity of the second disc I with respect to the axis of shaft 5. In the example shown such radius of eccentricity can be varied from a maximum value, corresponding to the position shown in Fig. 5, down to zero, which corresponds to the position illustrated in Fig. 5a.

Surrounding the eccentric disc I is an eccentric strap 9 whereby, through the medium of a rod ID, a reciprocatory motion is imparted to the related end of the flexible connecting means (to be described hereinafter) whose amplitude can be adjusted by means of the adjusting mechanism described hereinbefore.

In the operation of the machine, the sleeve 8a is operatively connected with shaft 5 as: a result of a stud 23 at one end of a spring arm 22 fast with shaft 5 engaging that hole 24 of a series drilled through knob l 2 which corresponds to the desired needle stroke adjustment (Figs. 3 and 4).

As to the outer eccentric disc 1, it par-takes of dependency on the thickness of the article.

I5. Shown at lfib is the connection between said sheath and the guide sleeve ll securedto the casing I, While lBa designates the connection between the sheath and the needle-carrying sleeve l8. Slidably received in said sleev I8 is a plunger l9 carrying the needle 2| which'can be of any suitable type; the related end of wire I! is fastened directly to said plunger; a tension spring 20 is interposed between the needle-carrying plunger l9 and the bottom of sleeve IS.

The machine thus described operates as follows 2 After the motor 3 has been started the eccentric strap 9 imparts a reciprocatory motion to the wire l1, whereby a similar motion is imparted to plunger l9 and consequently to needle 2|. The operator who holds the sleeve H2 in his hand has then nothing else to do than travelling the needle 2| along the row of loose stitches in the stocking stretched on drum 2; the mending process then takes place automatically.

The strok of the needle must be adjusted in In this machine such needle stroke adjustment can be carried out most easily and accurately since it is only necessary so to act upon the knob l2 as to bring the spring arm 22 in register with the desired hole in said knob.

As will be clearly understood from the preceding description, the machine according to this invention comprises as few parts as possible and is very reliable in operation. This enables the machine to be operated for a long time with almost no attention. Moreover, an advantage of the same is that the driving mechanism and the stretcher are combined'into one single unit.

The embodiment of the flexible connecting means as a Bowden wire has been shown only by way of example; it is to be understood that any other suitable mechanical, pneumatical or like connecting means can be resorted to.

Besides, it is obvious that this invention has been shown here for explanatory but by no means limitary purposes, and'thatmodifications can be made therein without altering its spirit. For instance, the pair of eccentrics can be substituted by other equivalent members, such as suitable cooperating cams.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A machine for mending hosiery articles comprising a casing, a driving mechanism within said casing, a needle-carrying sleeve, a needle assembly slidably received in said sleeve, flexible connecting means between said needle and the driving mechanism and a drum stretcher secured on said casing and serving to support the article to be mended.

2. A machine for mending hosiery articles as claimed in claim 1 wherein the driving mechanism comprises a pair of eccentric discs one of which is loosely mounted on the driving shaft while the other has a pin connection with the same, surrounds the one first mentioned and can be set at various angles with respect to the same for the purpose of altering the stroke of the reciprocatory motion that can be imparted to the needle by the said combination of eccentric discs.

3. A machine for mending hosiery articles as claimed in claim 1 wherein the reciprocation of the mending needle is controlled by a mechanism comprising a driving shaft, an adjusting knob and a crank secured on said shaft, an idle eccentric disc on said shaft, a disc rigid with saideccentric disc and adjacent to said knob, means to couple said disc with said knob in various angular positions, an additional eccentric disc surrounding the first-mentioned eccentric disc and having a pin connection with said crank, a, strap surrounding the latter eccentric disc and flexible connecting means between said strap and the needle.

MERQPEE SAGINIER. No references cited. 

